Review: The Nawie by Alex J. Knudsen

From the twisted depths of memory comes The Nawie, a haunting psychological thriller by author Alex J. Knudsen that will make you keep the lights on.

When Marcelina Bajorek and her boyfriend take a trip back to Poland to reconnect with her family, she has no idea what horrors from the past she is about to unleash. As Marcelina is soon to learn, secrets aren’t the only monstrous things left behind in her childhood.

The opening of this novel sets a tragic tone, with a mysterious midnight terror in rural Poland envisioned through the five-year-old eyes of Marcelina, on the very last night she ever saw her mother. Within a few months, the young girl is sent away into the rest of her life, believing that her mother’s life had ended.

More than two decades later, however, she discovers that her grandmother had deceived her – supposedly for Marcelina’s own protection – and that her mother had not, in fact, perished. Determined to unravel the web of lies surrounding her history and apparent abandonment, she travels to Poland with Jack, her partner.

Upon meeting her long-estranged mother, Marcelina’s confusion and pain only deepen, and her grip on reality begins to loosen. Following her obsession with finding the truth, Marcelina ends up sucked into the same darkness that swallowed her mother so many years ago, and her partner Jack is far from immune. As it becomes clear that nothing will be found in the past but death, the two protagonists narrowly manage to escape the clutches of madness. However, the unnamed terror follows Marcelina and Jack back to the United States, where the story takes an even darker turn.

Murder, lies, family secrets and haunted souls pepper this book, which stands as a delicately crafted master class in psychological horror. With more than 500 pages to play with, Knudsen is patient in his descriptions and revelations, immersing readers like slowly boiling frogs. The timing and twists of this complex plot allow us to make discoveries at the same instant as Marcelina and Jack, despite the narration-heavy writing. This compelling approach keeps readers on the edge of their seats throughout the story.

The Nawie, the titular and tortured spirit of the lake, hovers over this story like a stormcloud, but is rarely addressed directly. A classic MacGuffin, it drives all the action of the novel, but is never given a true form. From a metaphorical perspective, it is the personification of guilt and tragedy, of secrets and lies. It is destructive and cruel, a selfish and enigmatic force, but also one that exposes hard truths. In other words, it’s a well-used motif and a testament to the author’s skill as a storyteller.

Knudsen is a master of symbolism, and an expert draftsman, dropping small hints and allusions throughout this story that will make readers want to flip back to page one and start all over again, even given the length. The emotional carnage throughout this story is impressively visceral, while the relationships and depiction of trauma are impactful and authentic.

While the length of this book may cause some to balk, there are few wasted words. All in all, The Nawie is a brilliant piece of psychological horror that has an impact long after the last page is read.